


Something Greater

by Selenay



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Backstory, F/F, Femslash, M/M, Same-Sex Marriage, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 16:03:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4228146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selenay/pseuds/Selenay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, waiting is painful.</p><p>Sometimes, waiting leads to a chance to do something wonderful for old friends. For Phil, today is the second kind of waiting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Greater

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a prompt from [shell](http://archiveofourown.org/users/shell/pseuds/shell) and took on a life of its own after. It gave me a chance to write some backstory for Phil and celebrate the ruling on June 26th at the same time, in one of the few fics that I've ever teared up while writing. Hope you guys enjoy my contribution to this joyful fest :-)

Over the years, Phil had sat on a dozen different sofas, waiting for news with friends or family. He'd never done it quite like this, with this sense of certainty that what they were hoping for would come true.

He'd never done it with two people who meant so much to him.

Somewhere in the house, there was a faint chink of china. The sound on the television had been turned way down: when something happened, it would be obvious on the screen that it was time. A dog barked somewhere down the street and children's voices floated in through the windows, open to allow the last of the morning breeze to air out the house before they had to close up and blast the air conditioning again.

On the love seat across from Phil, sitting close with their hands joined tight, were the two women he was here to support. Polly's dark hair was still short, the way he remembered it from his childhood, but it was heavily speckled with grey. Rose's hair was pure white, so bright it almost glowed in the sun, and she'd pinned it neatly at the base of her skull. She used to allow it to flow to her waist when he first knew her, a thick blonde glory that defied every pin and ribbon she tried to contain it with.

"We won't get the news any faster if you keep poking at that damn phone," Rose said.

Polly slid the phone under her leg with a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

Phil shook his shirt sleeve lower, so that it hid his watch. Skye had set it up with text alerts when she presented it to him before he left, and he couldn't seem to resist checking it every couple of minutes.

A rattle of china announced Clint's arrival. He set the tray down with a level of respect for the sanctity of the teapot that even Rose couldn't criticise, although Phil could tell that she was itching to. When she got anxious, she got waspish. It was a failing she'd acknowledge to anyone when she was feeling calmer. She was always honest about her failings. It was a lesson Phil was still trying to learn.

Polly brightened up and sat forward to begin pouring and distributing. Clint stepped back and gingerly sat down next to Phil, immediately grabbing his hand and holding on. If Phil clutched back as tightly, only they had to know. There was a lot riding on today.

Drinking tea didn't help with the anxiety, but there was something comforting about the heat of a mug in his hand. He could understand why Polly almost lived on the stuff, even down here, where the weather never got as bitterly cold in the winter as it had where he grew up. Rose usually stuck to iced tea, but she curled her fingers around her cup and inhaled the steam.

Clint nudged Phil's shoulder and asked, in a low tone that wouldn't carry far, "Where did they get all those?"

Phil looked around the room, smiling at the framed comics that filled the walls. Most of them had been hanging up in the shop before they passed it onto their niece. One or two, he recognised from his teen years, when he'd been one of their regular customers, spending most Saturdays--and all his allowance--with them.

He leaned over, close enough to smell the citrus scent of Clint's shampoo, and said, "The same places I got most of mine."

Three years ago, Polly had smelled that citrus scent on his skin when she kissed his cheek as he arrived to help with the move south. She'd given him a knowing look and called Rose over immediately, so the packing had been delayed by an hour while he showed off photos and explained as much as he could about Clint.

They had both been delighted to finally meet Clint at dinner last night. Phil couldn't have been happier if he'd been introducing Clint to his mother.

His watch vibrating against his wrist interrupted those thoughts. Phil looked up at the television screen in time to see the picture cut away from the studio anchors to a reporter standing with the Supreme Court steps in the background.

At the same time, Polly's phone began ringing, and Rose had to take her cup away before she dropped it while trying to fumble the answer button.

"Hello?" There was a short pause. A wide smile blossomed on Polly's face. "How soon are they going to start issuing them?" Another pause, and Polly's eyes widened. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

She swiped the phone off and turned to Rose. There was already a hint of tears brimming in Rose's eyes.

"Well, love," Polly said. "Shall we get married today?"

***

The afternoon was hot and sunny when they drove back to the house. By the time they had reached the county clerk's office, there had been half a dozen couples waiting ahead of Rose and Polly, all with smiles and tears in their eyes. The clerks processing the applications had worn smiles almost as wide, and they didn't seem to mind that the atmosphere in their staid office had been temporarily transformed into a party. It was a good day for it.

The license had been tucked carefully into Polly's purse and she hadn't relinquished her white knuckled grip on the shoulder strap ever since.

She and Rose had held hands all the way home, sitting in the back of the car, while Phil drove and pretended not to see the soft smiles Clint kept shooting his way. He didn't seem to mind waiting until they got back home before getting their own license. That calm understanding about why this was so important had made Phil fall a little more in love with him, even though he would have sworn that was impossible.

Phil pulled up in front of Rose and Polly's house, slotting the car neatly into one of the few clear spaces left in the street. It had been deserted when they left a few hours ago. He had to bite the inside of his lip to keep a smile from forming; he didn't want to give the game away too soon.

They were probably going to kill him, but it would be worth every moment.

He hung back slightly as they walked up the path to the house. Rose's limp was more obvious than it had been earlier in the morning, but she would probably refuse to sit until it was over. It seemed unfair that she'd fallen and broken her hip last year, after surviving sixty-nine icy winters with no more than a few bruises. She'd explained the unfairness to him, at great length, over the phone while she convalesced.

Clint caught Phil's hand and twined their fingers together as they walked up the path. "Think they've guessed yet?"

"It will be a miracle if they haven't," Phil said.

"I like them."

"They like you, too."

Clint grinned, and they followed the women through the house and out into the yard, where an explosion of noise washed over them. Polly and Rose stopped a couple of paces from the patio door, rooted in place by surprise and the overwhelming sight before them.

The garden had been transformed. Two dozen chairs had been set out on the lawn, all facing the tall magnolia tree where someone had draped rainbow streamers over ever branch. Wooden tables groaning with food lined the patio, decorated with a mixture of rainbow flags and little Captain America shields.

Phil hadn't stumbled over the Captain America comics without help, obviously.

But it was the people who really made the difference. Polly's niece, Sarah, was hugging her, tears streaming down both their cheeks. Sarah's small daughter was hugging Rose around the waist, a Doctor Who action figure clutched in one hand and a drooping bunch of flowers in the other.

All around them stood people of every age, from Rose's white hair down to a set of twins in a stroller. Phil recognised some of them from the shop over the years. Ian and Barbara had also helped with the packing with Polly and Rose moved south. Peter, Jamie, Harry, and Ben had been there to help when the shop flooded twenty years ago and everyone thought it might all be over. Jo had worked for them for nearly a decade, before leaving to open her own comic shop in the next county.

There were faces Phil didn't recognise, but Polly and Rose obviously did. Neighbours from the street, customers from the days after after Phil went away with SHIELD.

Polly frowned at her niece when the worst of the hugging was over. "What about the shop?"

Sarah grinned. "Martha's holding the fort, don't worry. Hey, Harry, have you got that laptop working yet? We can't start until Skype is running!"

Clint squeezed Phil's hand. "I'm glad you're getting to do this for them."

"It was worth the paperwork," Phil said.

"Yeah. Who can we get to do ours?"

"I'm sure we'll find someone."

It took a while to get organised and get the video running, but eventually, everything was ready and Phil took up his position under the magnolia tree, rainbow streamers floating around him in the breeze. Rose and Polly stood before him, holding hands, unable to take their eyes off each other. There were tears in both their eyes, but their smiles were wide and joyous.

Phil had to clear his throat twice before he could speak. A lump kept getting in the way.

In the front row of chairs, just behind Rose and Polly, Clint sent him an encouraging smile.

"Friends," Phil said. "We're gathered here today with Rose and Polly, as they take another step in the life they've lived together for as long as most of us have known them. After such a momentous day, it seems appropriate to begin this ceremony with these words: No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were..."


End file.
